MITRA Forum Question Details

Since you have not started a drawing on the paper, this is relatively easy to fix. This is a far more sensitive problem if there is any applied media. You will need a few of sheet of blotter slightly larger than the paper you are trying to flatten, a glass plate also larger than the paper, some heavy weights (I find large art books a convenient source of weight, and a moister or atomizer that allows for a fine spray.

Place a sheet of blotter on a clean, smooth, and even surface capable of withstanding heavy weights (the floor may be best if your tables are not substantial). Lightly mist the intended paper with clean water (preferably purified). You will need to do this one sheet at a time or you will require several sets of the aforementioned equipment). Place the second sheet of blotter over the paper, cover this with the glass plate and cover this with heavy books or other weights. Switch out the top blotter after a few hours, and replace this with another the next day. Two days is the shortest time that I would allot before considering the paper stable and flat. This is wholly dependent on the RH of the room in which you are performing the operation. You may need to leave it longer if the environment has a higher RH. If the paper is not completely dry, it will again curl after being removed from under the blotter and weights.

I guess I was a little narrow in my response. It just has to be rigid and not corrode in the presence of moisture. Plexi, or even better, ACM should be fine.

It is also important to not make the paper too wet or you may risk leaching a bit of the sizing out of it. Papers with little or no sizing may react differently and you could change the surface. As these are papers without a design layer, the risk is worth the benefit. This is not the case for paper that already has drawing or other design imagery. One should reach out to a paper conservator in that case.